This invention relates generally to plow apparatus for work vehicles, especially of the type that travel on rails and, more particularly, to such plow apparatus which includes at least one plow plate which can be turned around a verticle axis.
Several different arrangements are known whereby plow plates are associated with work vehicles such, for example, as for snow plowing purposes. Generally, a wedge or V-shaped plow plate is commonly used on the front ends of work vehicles. Further, other various configurations of plates adapted to push material are known in addition to such V-shaped plow plates. It is known to provide such plow or push plates on the front of the work vehicles so as to operate on the track of the vehicle, i.e., directly across the path or direction of movement of the vehicle. It is not uncommon for such plow plates to be mounted on the front of the vehicle so as to be turnable around a horizontal axis as the direction in which the work vehicle is changed.
In the case of plow apparatus specifically adapted to plow snow from railroad tracks, there are essentially two different arrangements which are presently in use. One such arrangement comprises the use of a separate snow plow carriage or "box" plow. Such a snow plow carriage is usually manned by a crew whose personnel attends to the plowing operations. A snow plow carriage of the type described is associated with the front end of the vehicle, in this case a locomotive engine, and the carriage performs both the so-called V-plowing as well as the so-called slide plowing, i.e., plowing along the side area of the vehicle. However, snow plow carriage apparatus of this type has the disadvantage of having relatively high cost of manufacture as well as a high operating cost.
The second arrangement which is frequently utilized in connection with plowing snow from railroad tracks comprises the mounting of a V-plow upon the front end of the engine in conjunction with so-called slide blades which are mounted upon each side of the engine. However, this arrangement is not always practical and, additionally, is relatively expensive due to the necessity of providing several plowing plates for its operation.
Plowing arrangements are known wherein a plowing plate is mounted upon the respective ends of a work vehicle. For example, Finnish Patent Application No. 3177/67 discloses a snow plow for a railroad engine in which a plow plate having a turnable blade is mounted upon each end of the engine. In this case, the blade or snow plow can be turned to a certain desired position such as by means of a hydraulic cylinder in a manner such that the snow plow functions as a so-called diagonal plow. However, even in such arrangements, it is necessary to mount separate slide blades on each side of the engine in order to insure a sufficiently large width for the plow to pass.